On Monday, March 12, we embarked on the Ed Reinink memorial ski tour with a lucky charm in tow: My dad’s favorite hat (a gift from me and Steve, as were the patches he sewed on it). It kept us company on the road to Arapahoe Basin, our first stop.

We couldn’t find any photos of him wearing the hat, but found lots of him in this pose—arms outstretched in an expression of pure joy.

We tried our best to emulate that pose, and that joy, throughout the trip.

My dad and I never got to ski Pali, a notoriously steep and rocky part of A-Basin, together while he was alive, but I certainly felt his presence there on this trip.

After a gorgeous, exhausting day at A-Basin, we moved on to Steamboat, where we stayed at the coolest little hotel, the Rabbit Ears Motel, named after the nearby Rabbit Ears Pass.

The next day, we did laps off the Pony Express lift, which services a big, bowl-like area interspersed with pockets of glades. We had a great ski day, but the intense freeze-thaw cycle (sub-30 at night, 60-plus by day) made us feel like we were skiing back home …

… so after breakfast at Winona’s, a Steamboat staple …

… we drove two hours to Winter Park for our last day. We enjoyed conditions that were as close to perfect as you can get without actually getting a powder day. The snow in the trees was soft and fluffy, even though Winter Park hadn’t gotten new snow for days. I hesitate to use the phrase “heaven-sent,” but …

The trip wasn’t complete until we hit up Beau Jo’s, an awesome little pizza place off I-70 in Idaho Springs, located between the mountains and the Denver/Boulder area. We honored my dad once more by toasting him with his favorite beer, Coors Light.

I wish the trip never had to end. Luckily, my dad’s joy for life wasn’t limited to one trip, one season, or even one lifetime.